Mycobacteria are a large, diverse, and widely distributed family of aerobic, nonsporulating, nonmotile bacilli that have a high cell-wall lipid content and a slow growth rate. Some Mycobacteria are harmless, while others such as M. tuberculosis are significant pathogens. Mycobacterial species are differentiated by their growth rate, pigment production, animal virulence, and biochemical reactivity.
Many detection methods for determining the presence of pathogenic Mycobacteriaceae rely on the lysis of the organisms and amplification of nucleic acids therein. However, currently available lysis procedures are expensive, laborious, time consuming and may require caustic reagents, specialized equipment, or both. This contrasts with lysis protocols for other types of cells, which generally do not require as stringent conditions for lysis.